indie authors

Do you know Libiro? Probably not. Libiro (http://www.libiro.com) is a new e-book store, started by a British independent writer named Ben Galley. His approach to independent works is one I like very much: only independent authors are allowed to publish their books via Libiro. Large, established companies have no reason to go there, they won’t be accepted.

That, for me, is a good reason to start selling my books via Libiro as well. Some titles are there already, like The Devil’s Diary, Green Haven and Hilda the Wicked Witch book 1. Also my new title, The Story of the Mimosa, is available through Libiro.

If you feel warmly towards indie writers, have a look at the selection at Libiro. You may find your next book there!

Warning: I’m going to talk a little bit about my own writing in this post, which I usually try to avoid on Casual Friday in favor of topics that are of more general interest to people who are not, well, me. But I’ve got a point, I promise.

I am presently in the midst of writing the fifth book in an epic fantasy series, and quite suddenly, the wonderful absurdity of that statement hit me. The first book (The Sable City) went up at the usual virtual book stores about 20 months ago, and the next three volumes followed at slightly irregular intervals. They have sold…okay. Fair to middlin’. I’m not earning a living wage by any means, but enough to put some bacon on some cheeseburgers now and again. As I did not go into “Indie World” thinking I was going to be John Grisham in a month, I’m perfectly happy with that. Can’t complain.

What I am very happy about, is that I am now writing book five in a series that nobody would mistake for a colossal success. I am totally confident I am doing so only because I am an “Indie” author.

I’m not claiming to be any sort of expert about trad publishing, though I did do the usual two-step with the industry many, many moons ago while I was still a grad student in Lit; know plenty of trad published authors, have done the conference circuit, all that stuff. I can confidently say that if the first couple books of the Norothian Cycle were traditionally published and had sold what they did over the course of the first year they were available, there is no way I’d be under contract to write Book V. Yes, each time a new volume comes out, sales go up all the way back to book number one. But that is not the way trad publishing works: You don’t get to build an audience over time. You get one deal, you pretty much have one shot to score big. If you don’t, there are ten thousand other authors waiting for their turn on the Tilt-a-whirl.

Some might argue that with a publishing house behind my books, instead of just lil’ ol’ me, of course they would all have done much better, gotten wide exposure, etc., etc. To which I can say nothing stronger than “maybe.” But probably not. Lots of people, even writers, seem to think the four or five most famous authors in the world are somehow representative of the “typical” trad author, and from my own experience I have absolutely no doubt that is totally false. The Kings and Pattersons and yes even the E.L. James are very much the exception to the rule. The vast majority of trad pubbed authors, particularly the first-timers, face a day-to-day reality much more like that confronting the average Indie writer than what Stephanie Meyer is looking at.

Trad houses do not have infinite ad budgets, and take a look at how they spend their money. J.K. Rowling’s new book came out not too long ago, and has since sold somewhere in the neighborhood of a bazillion copies. I have seen ads for that book everywhere: Facebook, Goodreads, The New York Times, newspapers, TV,everywhere. And you know what? That book would have sold a bazillion copies if the publishers hadn’t spent a nickel on advertising: It is J.K. Rowling’s new book, for crying out loud! And yet, gigantic ad budget to sell a book that needs no publicity, thus allowing everybody at Little, Brown and Company to pat each other on the back and congratulate themselves on what savvy business people they are.

I did not decide to put books out in the world because I had any delusion that I was going to be fabulously wealthy as a result. I wrote, and am writing, the books that I want to write, and I put them out there because I think some readers might find them enjoyable. And readers have, quite honestly more than I really ever thought they would. That is very cool to me, and it makes me happy. So does being an Indie, because no matter the frustrations, the slow days or months, the pitfalls or pratfalls, this is still the absolute best time that has ever existed to be a writer, and to have a reasonable shot at getting your work in front of readers. Those readers then get to be the sole arbiters of what they like, or what they don’t. Though it might not seem true each and every day, today is the best day to be an author that has never been. I have not the smallest shred of a doubt that is true.

So back to work on Book V for me. Because the story, as ever, goes forward. 😉

Ed’s Casual Friday: So You Want to be an Indie…

Why not, right? All that seems to be involved is uploading an unedited Word file, then buying a basket to catch all the money that will immediately shower down upon you. However, as there may be the occasional snare along this way, asking yourself the following ten questions ahead of time may save you some surprises later.

1.) Have you written a book?

A.) Yes. (continue to question #2)

B.) No. (Um. Okay. Yeah, you are probably going to want to do that first, just to make sure you’re comfortable with ignoring friends and family for long stretches of time, forgetting to do stuff like showering and eating, and developing a chair-shaped butt callus. Go ahead and do that, I’ll wait. (checks watch) Back already? Great, on to #2.

2.) Is your book about vampires?

A.) No. (continue to question #3)

B.) Yes. (That’s probably a savvy move on your part, but really…any chance I can talk you out of it?)

3.) Has your book been edited by someone who is not you, is not related to you, you are not having sex with, is not trying to have sex with you, speaks the language the book is written in, and/or would rather hurt your feelings then risk you looking like an idiot in public?

A.) Yes. (continue to question #4)

B.) No. (Did you hear that? That was the braying of wolves. Hungry wolves who like grammar.)

4.) Are you counting on the proceeds of this publication to pay for food, clothing, or shelter anytime soon?

A.) No. (continue to question #5)

B.) Yes. (Yeah, you may want to look into a more reliable source of income. Like buying lottery tickets or mugging tourists)

5.) Do you enjoy being blasted and mocked by people you’ve never met?

A.) Yes. (continue to question #6)

B.) No. (Imagine a book you absolutely hate, couldn’t even finish, and/or consider to have absolutely no value as anything but firewood. That book is someone’s absolute favorite book of all time, and that person may read your book. What do you think they will think about yours?)

6.) Do you mind spending the majority of your free time on social media and the like, pubbing your book for the rest of your life?

A.) No. (continue to question #7)

B.) Yes. (That’s a problem, as even if your book is the best thing ever written and word of its brilliance will spread like wildfire as soon as people start reading it, you still have to get them to start reading it. And you know what? Everybody else is trying to get people to read their books, too.)

7.) Can you hear the sentence, “Oh, so you’re not a real author,” without kneeing the speaker in the swimsuit area?

Since a few weeks I am an official member of the staff on Podioracket.com. I was asked by my friend Arlene Radaski to supply background news from the world of Indie writers and Indie publishing.

Podioracket brings out a delightful online radio-show every two weeks on Blogtalk Radio, which can be listened to live, or enjoyed later through a podcast that is available of each show. Podioracket is created and done by Rhonda Carpenter and Arlene Radaski. Both ladies themselves are brilliant writers and authors, you deprive yourself of good reading if you do not have a look at their work.

You can find Rhonda’s book The mark of a Druid as an e-book on Smashwords and in print on Amazon.com.

Arlene wrote a magnificent book called The Fox, also in e-book format on Smashwords.

In the past couple months I’ve posted a few times about things authors shouldn’t do like respond before you understand the situation, be pushy on Twitter, and send dunning letters to book bloggers. I have another regrettable tale of misdeeds today, only this time the author was the lesser of the problems.

Self-published authors need to be forward to get attention; that’s a basic fact of marketing. But they don’t always pick the right technique or venue. Take, for example, David Eckhof. He’d recently self-published a humorous political novel via Amazon, and while looking for ways to promote it, he hit upon the idea of leaving cards in a local Waterstones bookstore near similar titles.

Naturally the booksellers in the store didn’t appreciate the idea, so after they removed the cards they sent him an email telling him so. Normally the story would stop here, and it would be a story that would hardly be worth a mention. But what caught my eye with this story was what the Waterstones booksellers did next.

According to The Guardian (and confirmed by a Waterstones spokesman), one or more of the Waterstones staff retaliated. A couple negative and trolling reviews were posted on the books listing on Amazon.co.uk. David connected the reviews with Waterstones bookseller, and after complaining to Waterstones the review was removed. A couple more troll reviews were posted, but after David complained to Waterstones they too were removed.

And in case you were wondering, at least part of this story has been confirmed by Waterstones:

“If the leaflets had just been about his book, then obviously they would still have been looked for and removed and we’d put it down to an over-enthusiastic new author. But including the encouragement to use a major competitor is just rude and surely obviously inappropriate, which is what prompted a polite email to the author asking him not to use our shops in such a way,” said the spokesman.

“Unfortunately, it subsequently emerged that staff at the shop had taken matters into their own hands and indulged in some completely inappropriate behaviour, as pointed out to us by the author. We took action to identify those involved and have the offending material removed, and dealt with the situation accordingly, and of course we are sorry that members of our staff acted in such a fashion.”

So what we have here is an author who was overly-enthusiastic and booksellers who were vindictive. Whiel there are misdeeds all around, I would think the author was the lesser actor.

The thing is, I have had authors leave spam comments on this blog before which promote their books. These comments were spam because they were unrelated to the post in question, but I’ve never gone beyond simply deleting them. Seeking out the author’s book in order to punish them would obviously have been inappropriate, so I never did.

But clearly someone at Waterstones didn’t think so, because here we are. According to David, Waterstones did apologize and offer to carry his novel on their ebook site by way of apology. the ebook is up, but David has not seen a boost in sales.

Dear Indie writer. Yes, I am specifically looking at Indie writers now, although of course everyone is welcome to read this article.

I do not claim to be a professional in marketing and promoting books. In fact, I don’t do a lot of that. For that reason, this post is not meant to be a lesson in promoting, marketing and all that, as there are many posts, articles, guides and how-to’s available online already. The fun thing is that often these writings, though well-meant, have contradicting contents at times.

I would simply like to point out how I think that Indie authors should not promote their books.

1. Don’t use Twitter/Facebook/Google+/other social media as an automated machine-gun to fire off the same text every so often.

Why not? Most people know how to use a search engine or search option. When I search for an author or a kind of book and I see the exact same tweet/post appear 25 times on the first page of hits, that strikes me as overdoing it. Instead of spending time to flood the internet with the same thing over and over again, post teasers of the book. Lure people in. Show them in more ways than one that this book is what they want to read. Tweet/FB/G+ your book a few times, but please don’t make yourself ‘sound’ like a broken copying-machine.

2. Do not approach fellow Indie authors in order to sell your book to them, especially the writers/authors that you interact with a lot (facebook groups, forums, Google+ communities etc.)

Why not? These people already know you. You probably talk to them about your books, your writing, your style and what not. If they don’t know you, then you either do something wrong, or they are the wrong crowd. (Perhaps they only want you to buy their books?) If you need to shove your book into people’s virtual faces, then you have probably failed to use the forum the wrong way. Instead, talk about the progress of your work, and when it’s out just say “whew, it’s published”. When someone’s interested in it, they’ll find it.

3. Don’t talk down the quality of another writer’s book to make your own look better.

Why not? If you have to tell people about it, then your own book is clearly not good enough. Put more work into it, find a reliable and honest editor, get some more honest beta-readers. Make it good. And respect the hard work of fellow authors, they are in this game as well as they can. Like you.

4. Don’t keep pounding the drum on this one marvellous book you wrote.

Why not? People will eventually get tired of that. Oh, that book again? Got it, enjoyed it, enjoyed a dozen others since then. Instead, write more and better. Word of mouth is the best way to promote your books, and the more books you have written, the more words there will be in mouths. No other way of advertising will be better than this one.

And if you made it this far, please understand that these are my views. You can agree, you can disagree. It’s up to you. And yes, feel free to tell me that I need to buy your book. Although you may be able to guess what will happen to that comment, after reading this piece.

It’s amazing but true. Two years ago I published my first little book, about a wicked witch called Grimhilda. Hilda for friends. When I pressed that “publish” button for the first time, little did I know…

What followed was a small avalanche of books (at least that is how it seems to me). More Hilda books, and people kept downloading them. I brought out a few books in a different genre too, but Hilda apparently is everyone’s darling. Not bad for a wicked witch. I started an author facebook page to have a way to interact with fans of my written heroes and heroines, which was a good idea. I met very nice people!

A very nice and also surprising milestone was the invitation to join the Alexandria Publishing Group, a collective of independent writers who stand for books that are good in every way. Not just the story, but also the grammar, spelling, etcetera. Quality all through the work.

I am grateful to Sharon and Jean, who made Hilda happen, and Arlene for nearly getting on my nerves to publish that first booklet of Hilda. Without them, this all would not have happened. Thank you, Carol, who patiently looks for all the mistakes I hide in the texts, and of course, I am grateful to the fans of Hilda, William, Babs and Lily (and all the others), for downloading and buying my books. Without them, this would never have taken off the way it has!

I shall be engaging in a number of interviews with independent authors. May you find these informative, entertaining, and perhaps even inspiring to go out and locate their books!

This interview is with author Karen Pokras Toczydlowski.

Dear Karen, can you offer us a little insight into who you are?

First and foremost, I’m a Mom. In fact, I started writing my children’s books because of my three children.My two older kids (now teens) would grumble something fierce everytime I suggested they read “for pleasure.” Even just getting them to read what was required for school was a chore. It was difficult to believe we shared the same DNA, as I’ve always loved to read. Of course, I did not grow up in a generation of computers, video games, cell phones, movies on demand, and hundreds of television channels. There are so many distractions for kids today. They complained that reading was boring, and so, I decided to write a series that kids would enjoy reading to prove them wrong. About two years ago, I sat down and created 10-year-old Nathan Rockledge, aka Nate Rocks. The first book, Nate Rocks the World, came out in July, 2011. The second book, Nate Rocks the Boat, comes out May 1st. I also have an adult contemporary novel called Julia’s Song, written under my pen name, Elyse Pierce.

What is the reason that you started writing? When did you start writing?

I’m not really sure why I started writing, other than I had a story swirling in my brain that I wanted to get down on paper. I really had no expectations of ever publishing anything. It was more just an excersice of expression at first. This was 2009(?) At 40-something years old, I quickly realized that I loved to write. I’ve been writing ever since.

Are you writing under a pen-name, do you use your own, or is your work out in both ways?

Yes – I actually write under two pen names. My children’s books are under the name Karen Pokras Toz (which is a shortened and much easier to spell verson of my very long Polish name) and I also have recently published an adult contemporary novel called Julia’s Song, under the pen name, Elyse Pierce.

What, do you think, is your best book? And why is that?

That is such a hard question, it’s like asking me which of my children I love best. Now that I have the second Nate Rocks book coming out, I have a feeling I’ll be asked this question a lot. Honestly, I can’t choose – I love them both. Julia’s Song is such a different book from the Nate Rocks books, it’s impossible to even compare them. Like my children, I love them all for both different and similar reasons.

In my children’s books – the aspect I love best is Nathan’s humor. Kids are under so much pressure these days. I think it’s so important to be able to maintain a sense of humor when trying to work out so many of the daily obstacles and challenges kids (and everybody really) face.

Naturally, after the best book, what is your worst, if there is one? And why do you feel that way?

Well if you asked me this question last year, I would definitely say Julia’s Song. It was a story I wrote several years ago, and it was the first novel I had ever written. I, of course, thought it was amazing (and my mom agreed so it had to be true!) Luckily, I became distracted with Nate. When I picked Julia’s Song up again last year and began re-reading it, I thought, “Wow – this is really awful!” I basically kept the story line, but otherwise gave it a major overhaul. Now it is something I can be truly proud of.

How do you think your writing has changed over time? Did it change at all?

Yes- well – Julia’s Song is a perfect example. There is no doubt that my writing has changed and (hopefully) improved over the last couple of years. I can only hope it continues to develop and impove over the years.

And can you say that writing has changed you?

Absolutely. If you told me 5 years ago, I’d wind up being a novelist, I would have laughed in your face. I’m a numbers person. I’ve worked as an accountant for 15 years. The most I had ever written was an email asking a client about their taxes. But, my creative piece eventually made it to the surface, and here I am! Over the last few, I’ve gone from being an accountant who likes to write, to a writer who does taxes on the side.

What is the most daring thing you ever did or tried in your writing? In which book did that happen?

Well, I tried to write a sex scene in Julia’s Song, and I failed miserably!! I think part of it had to do with the fact that I knew my Dad would eventually be reading my book. Hopefully the readers won’t be too disappointed by its absence.

And, if your feel up to it, what is the most daring thing you ever did in your life? Feel free to skip this one, not everybody is up to revealing much about themselves…

Uh – yeah – skip 😉

Is there something you still want to have a go at, in your writing life? Is there a challenge you envision that’s worth pursuing?

My favorite genre to read is Historical Fiction. I also feel as if this is one of the most difficult genres to write. I would love to have a go at writing something in this genre, but I feel I’m not quite there as a writer yet. Hopefully one day!

Has your writing ever been compared to the writing of another (perhaps even famous) writer/author? And do you like that?

Yes & Yes – I love it! For the Nate books, I have been compared to Judy Blume (who I just adore!), Jeff Kinney (Diary of a Wimpy Kid), and James Patterson (for his Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life book.) I’ve also been compared with C.S. Lewis & Authur Miller in my ability to shift from reality to fantasy. I take all of those as HUGE compliments!

Do you have one or two favourite books (written by someone else)? If so, what are they, and why do they appeal to you so much?

I have so many books I love, but if I have to pick two, here are two that I’ve read recently and I loved… – both are character driven historical fiction. One traditionally published, one by an indie author:

Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen

Jonathan’s Cross by ML Gardner

Which book you ever read would you label as least readable book, so far? Feel free to comment as liberally as you want to the why.

I have several books that I have started and have been unable to finish. However, I have a policy of refraining from publicly giving bad reviews. As an author, I know how much work goes into writing a story, and I also realize that tastes are very subjective and personal.

Is there a book that you know of that should never have been published, in your opinion?

For me, it’s not so much a question of whether or not a book should have been published as much as whether or not the book was ready to be published. For me, as an independent author, it is vital that I put out a quality book that I am proud of. This means having beta readers, a professional editor, a cover artist, and someone experienced with proper formatting.

Is there a writer that you would love to co-write a book with? And what genre would you like to write in then? Something you’re familiar with?

I would love to co-author a middle grade book with Judy Blume! That would be a dream come true! Of course, I’d probably be so star struck and intimidated that I wouldn’t be able to get two words out.

Let’s see… is there something in the realm of ‘wise words’ you once picked up that you would like to share? This does not have to be limited to writing, there is more to life than writing. At least, I heard there is. 😉

This is quickly becoming my favorite quote: “We have the power to shrink our dreams to fit reality, or the power to stretch our reality to fit our dreams.” (Anon.)

And as a last question, what is cooking with you? What’s your work in progress? Is there a tip of a veil that you can lift for us?

In the world of Middle Grade novels, I’ve got Nate Rocks the Boat, the second Nate Rocks book, coming out May 1st! In addition, I’m working on two projects: 1st: the third (and most likely final) book in the Nate Rocks series, and 2nd: a book tentatively titled “Millicent Marie is Not My Name” – about a 12 year old girl who blogs. I’m also working on a short Nate Rocks story for an anthology I’ve been invited to participate in, to come out next fall. As for Elyse Pierce, I don’t want her to feel left out, so I’ve got some ideas stirring for her next book as well.

If there is anything else you would like to share, for example a thought, some promotion for your book(s), then here’s your chance!

Thanks so much for having me on your blog – I’d love to share where you can find out more about my books:

I shall be engaging in a number of interviews with independent authors. May you find these informative, entertaining, and perhaps even inspiring to go out and locate their books!

This interview is with author Valerie Douglas .

Dear Valerie, can you offer us a little insight into who you are?

I’m never what anyone expects. *laughing* I’ve been told I can be intense. Imagine that! I’m funnier on paper than in person, although I can tell great stories. (surprise) Most people find me pretty goofy at first and are shocked when they find out I’m pretty smart, too. I’m love a good debate on almost any topic.

What is the reason that you started writing? When did you start writing?

I started writing because I had to, no other reason. Since I was a child I didn’t just have an imaginary friend, I had dozens. Writing down the stories they wanted to tell me came later. I wrote one story at fourteen, an epic fantasy at seventeen, but didn’t start getting serious about it until my twenties. Then life got in the way for a while.

Are you writing under a pen-name, do you use your own, or is your work out in both ways?

I do both, since I write both mainstream novels and erotica.

What, do you think, is your best book? And why is that?

The Coming Storm and The Last Resort are the two best things I’ve ever written, both have rich and wonderful characters, detailed plots with powerful messages and complex world-building. (Even The Last Resort which is contemporary, but the world behind the resorts is as involved as any other society.) Writing them was a labor of love.

Naturally, after the best book, what is your worst, if there is one? And why do you feel that way?

I don’t have a book I consider worst. If there ever was one it’s in the trash. I’d never put out anything that was less than my best in terms of characters and plot.

How do you think your writing has changed over time? Did it change at all?

Oh definitely. I’ve learned how to be a much better writer. I’ve always been the go-to person where spelling is concerned, and I thought the same of my grammar. It’s still quite good, but every writer has bad habits, over uses words, etc.

And can you say that writing has changed you?

In many many ways the act or struggle of putting complex ideas down on paper allowed me to clarify them for myself. And, in the case of The Last Resort, was actually kind of revelatory. In the book – which has a lot of biographical elements, my male lead asks my protagonist a question I’d never dared ask myself. It was… interesting.

What is the most daring thing you ever did or tried in your writing? In which book did that happen?

Nike’s Wings. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to carry off all the elements of the storyline, but you should always do what scares you, you should always stretch your boundaries. People who’ve read Nike love it.

And, if your feel up to it, what is the most daring thing you ever did in your life? Feel free to skip this one, not everybody is up to revealing much about themselves…

Go up in a helicopter. I’m deathly afraid of heights and enclosed spaces, which pretty much covers the helicopter thing, especially with six people crammed into it. When the pilot tilted the thing to give us a better view… He kept asking what that noise was. It was me, trying to breathe. *laughing*

Is there something you still want to have a go at, in your writing life? Is there a challenge you envision that’s worth pursuing?

Oh, tons. Let me at ‘em. I’ve got sequels to almost everything I write to do yet, but there’s a western sitting in the back of my brain percolating. The research is all done, and the first half of the story… it’s the second half…

Has your writing ever been compared to the writing of another (perhaps even famous) writer/author? And do you like that?

Dear God, no. I don’t want to be like anybody, I want someone to try to be like me.

Do you have one or two favourite books (written by someone else)? If so, what are they, and why do they appeal to you so much?

My personal favorite will always be To Kill a Mockingbird – a story of a young girl’s coming of age that raised questions about race and mental illness. It started a national conversation, the results of which we still see today.

Which book you ever read would you label as least readable book, so far? Feel free to comment as liberally as you want to the why.

There are some classics that I simply can’t get through but just because they’re not my cup of tea and there was the one book I read that ended in a deliberate cliffhanger. I never read another book by that author.

Is there a book that you know of that should never have been published, in your opinion?

Actually, no, because I fear who would make that judgment. As long as it’s edited and formatted properly, publish away. On the other hand, there are some people who want to be writers who really shouldn’t. Just because you know how to write doesn’t necessarily make you a writer. That, though, is something each person has to decide for themselves.

Is there a writer that you would love to co-write a book with? And what genre would you like to write in then? Something you’re familiar with?

Truthfully I can’t see it. I’m a ‘pantser’, that is I write by the seat of my pants in a stream of consciousness. That doesn’t lend itself well to collaborations, and would take too much plotting for me.

Let’s see… is there something in the realm of ‘wise words’ you once picked up that you would like to share? This does not have to be limited to writing, there is more to life than writing. At least, I heard there is. 😉

It is not what happens to us in life but how we face it that matters. If at the end of the day you can say you’ve done the best you could with love, laughter, courage, dignity and honor, then that was a day well-lived.

And as a last question, what is cooking with you? What’s your work in progress? Is there a tip of a veil that you can lift for us?

I’m currently working on a sequel to Nike’s Wings, a prequel to The Coming Storm and the aforementioned Western is still floating in the ether. I also want to do a sequel to Heart of the Gods – it was always intended to be a series. The same with Last Resort. I need more time in a day! *grins*

If there is anything else you would like to share, for example a thought, some promotion for your book(s), then here’s your chance!

I’ve got a new release, a romantic contemporary suspense called Lucky Charm, that’s just waiting for a new cover….